Tap-to-Give Platform Comparison: Which NFC Solution Fits Your Church?
Most tap-to-give options fall into two camps: hardware you buy once that points at the giving page you already use, or a disc that comes with a required ongoing cost, whether that is a platform subscription, a monthly plan, or fees on every gift. Which camp you pick matters more than the sticker price on the disc.
The short version: most tap-to-give products carry required ongoing costs. Subsplash Tap requires the Subsplash platform, a paid subscription; Tithely Tap only works inside Tithely Giving, which takes fees on every gift, forever; and Overflow Tap requires a monthly plan on a one-year contract. Tap.Giving is a true one-time cost: $5.00 per disc for 100-199, $4.00 for 200-399, $3.50 for 400 or more, free shipping, no required subscription, and it works with the giving platform you already use. Tap Tag is also hardware-only, at the cost of a generic look on the pew.
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Platform Overview: The Tap-to-Give Landscape
Tap-to-give technology uses NFC (Near Field Communication) to open a church's giving page with one phone tap. As churches adopt it, often as a modern alternative to giving kiosks, five options come up most for church leaders:
Subsplash Tap
Tap giving inside the Subsplash ecosystem. Subsplash Giving is free to start; donations run through Subsplash's processor, and the wider app and website platform is a paid subscription. Here is what churches actually pay for Subsplash.
Tithely Tap-to-Give
NFC discs and stands on top of Tithely Giving. The giving platform is free to use; you pay a one-time cost for the discs and Tithely's per-gift processing fee.
Overflow Tap
Tap discs and labels from the Overflow giving platform. Hardware runs $2.00-$5.35 per unit, and every option requires a monthly plan ($29-$359/mo by unit count) on a minimum one-year contract.
Tap Tag
Plain NFC stickers or tags that redirect to a giving page. Cheap and platform-agnostic, but usually generic in appearance.
Tap.Giving
FULL DISCLOSURE: WE SELL THESEHardware-only solution that works with any existing giving platform. Transparent pricing, no monthly fees. We make this product, so weigh our case against the others below rather than taking our word for it.
New Entrant to Watch: tiptap
tiptap is a Visa-backed contactless giving solution that recently partnered with Pushpay. It uses Visa's tap-to-pay infrastructure rather than NFC tags, meaning donors tap a credit or debit card on a terminal instead of tapping a phone on a disc. While tiptap is gaining traction in the church space, it operates as a payment processor with per-transaction fees, a fundamentally different (and more expensive long-term) model than hardware-only NFC discs. For the full breakdown, see our tiptap vs. Tap.Giving comparison. Some churches weigh a general processor like Square for the same in-person tap, which we cover in our Square for churches comparison. Another hardware option worth knowing is ChurchTap's dot-style tag, which we cover in our TapDot vs. Tap.Giving comparison.
Detailed Platform Comparison
| Feature | Subsplash Tap | Tithely | Overflow Tap | Tap Tag | Tap.Giving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works With | Subsplash Giving | Tithely Giving | Overflow plan required | Any giving page | Any giving page |
| Giving Platform Cost | Free giving; app + site paid | Free | $29-359/mo plan required | Keep what you have | Keep what you have |
| Who Processes Gifts | Subsplash | Tithely | Overflow | Your platform | Your platform |
| Hardware Cost | Quote required | $2.50-4.00/disc + shipping | $2.00-5.35/unit | $2-5/tag | $3.50-5.00/disc |
| Required Ongoing Cost | Paid platform subscription | Platform fees on every gift | Monthly plan, 1-year contract | None | None |
| Custom Church Design | Yes | Limited | Yes | Basic | Full custom |
| Hardware Price Published | Contact required | In-account | Published in shop | Clear | Fully published |
1. Subsplash Tap: All-in-One Ecosystem
Subsplash Tap is part of Subsplash's church platform: apps, websites, media, and giving under one vendor. Subsplash Giving itself is free to start, but the full app and website platform is a paid subscription, and published third-party breakdowns put most churches between $300 and $2,000+ per month once apps, media, and giving are bundled. If you want that whole stack, the tap giving is a natural add-on. If you only want a tap, it is a lot of platform to buy.
✅ Pros
- • One vendor for app, site, media, and giving
- • Free giving tier to start
- • Professional design quality
- • Processing rate drops as giving grows
❌ Cons
- • Full platform is a paid subscription
- • Gifts run through Subsplash's processor
- • Tap giving lives inside the ecosystem
- • Hardware price is quote-only
2. Tithely Tap-to-Give: Established Player
Tithely is a well-known giving platform that sells NFC discs and stands on top of it. Their page says no monthly fee, and that is true as far as it goes. What you pay instead is Tithely's fee on every gift, forever (published at 2.9% + $0.30 on cards), because the discs only work inside Tithely Giving. At $100,000 a year of digital giving that is roughly $3,000 a year, every year, which is more than an entire disc order costs once. Custom discs also carry a 250-disc minimum at $4.00 each, so entry is $1,000+ before shipping, and shipping is charged. For how the free-platform category compares, see our Zeffy vs Tap.Giving breakdown, and if you are weighing an all-in-one church app against a free processor, our Subsplash vs Zeffy comparison runs those two head to head.
✅ Pros
- • Established brand and support
- • Included with a Tithely Giving account
- • Published processing rates
❌ Cons
- • Only works inside Tithely Giving: fees on every gift, forever
- • Custom discs: 250 minimum, $1,000+ before shipping
- • Shipping charged on hardware
- • A non-Tithely church must migrate its whole giving stack
3. Tap Tag: Budget Basic Option
Simple NFC tags that redirect to giving pages. They are cheap and platform-agnostic, but usually look generic on a pew and offer little design control. Other tag-style vendors sit in this same bracket. Our Tapwalk pricing and alternatives guide walks through one of them, our TapItag comparison covers another tap-tag vendor in the same range, and our TagStand vs Tap.Giving comparison weighs an NFC reseller that leaves the programming and mounting to the church.
✅ Pros
- • Very low cost ($2-5/tag)
- • No monthly fees
- • Platform flexibility
- • Simple implementation
❌ Cons
- • Generic sticker or tag look, no custom church design
- • Little to no design customization
- • No added features beyond the redirect itself
4. Overflow Tap: Discs Plus a Required Plan
Overflow sells tap discs, labels, and flex units at hardware prices close to ours (a custom disc is $4.35). The difference is the required plan: published tiers run $29/mo for 50 units up to $359/mo for 2,500, on a minimum one-year contract. For 100 custom discs that is about $435 in hardware plus $588 a year in plan fees, roughly $1,023 in year one and $588 every year after, versus $500 once for the same count with Tap.Giving.
✅ Pros
- • Real disc form factor, not just stickers
- • Hardware prices published in their shop
- • Pairs naturally with Overflow's giving tools
❌ Cons
- • Required monthly plan ($29-$359/mo)
- • Minimum one-year contract
- • Plan cost scales as you add units
- • Keeps billing long after the discs are paid for
5. Tap.Giving: Hardware-Only, Any Platform (full disclosure, this is us)
Tap.Giving sells NFC hardware that works with any existing giving platform. No monthly fees, transparent pricing. We are not a neutral reviewer here, so the pros and cons below are the same standard we applied to the other four. Because NFC opens your giving page directly in the phone's browser, donors can give without downloading an app. For cost, programming, and where to buy, see our guide to church NFC tags.
✅ Pros
- • Keep your current platform
- • No monthly fees ever
- • Transparent $3.50-5.00 pricing
- • Professional custom design
- • Complete platform flexibility
❌ Cons
- • Doesn't process gifts itself, needs a giving platform already in place
- • Physical hardware: mounting and installation, not instant like a software add-on
- • Covers in-person giving only, not remote or online gifts
- • No bundled app, website, or donor CRM like an all-in-one platform
What Tap-to-Give Actually Costs
The disc itself is the small number. What moves real money over five years is what each option requires you to keep paying. Two of these five are true one-time purchases; the other three carry a required ongoing cost: a paid platform subscription (Subsplash), fees on every gift (Tithely), or a required monthly plan on a one-year contract (Overflow). The honest comparison is two numbers: the one-time hardware cost, and the required ongoing cost.
Every price in the tables below comes from each company's own published pricing, checked in 2026. Where a vendor only quotes on request, the table says so rather than guessing at a number.
Here is the one-time hardware math for a 200-seat church buying one disc per seat:
| Option | One-time hardware (200) | Required ongoing cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tap.Giving | 200 x $4.00 = $800, free shipping | $0. Keeps the platform you already use |
| Tap Tag | 200 x $2-5 = $400-$1,000 | $0. Keeps the platform you already use |
| Overflow Tap | 200 x $4.35 = $870 (custom discs) | Required plan, ~$79/mo at this size ($948/yr), one-year contract |
| Tithely Tap | Custom: 250 minimum x $4.00 = $1,000+ plus shipping | Fees on every gift (2.9% + $0.30 card), forever |
| Subsplash Tap | Quote required | Paid platform subscription, plus gifts run through Subsplash |
Why the ongoing cost matters more than the disc
Say your church takes $100,000 a year in digital gifts. Tithely's published card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 works out to roughly $3,000 a year in fees, every year, for as long as the discs are on your pews. Over five years that is around $15,000, next to an $800 one-time disc order. The recurring number is the whole decision.
With Tithely Tap or Subsplash Tap, adopting their hardware means your gifts run at their platform's rate, and leaving later means migrating your whole giving stack. With hardware-only discs like Tap.Giving or Tap Tag, you keep the processor and rate you already negotiated. That is the real fork in the road, and it is worth budgeting for. Our church giving technology budget benchmarks put these line items in context.
Want the exact disc math for your seat count? Our transparent pricing page breaks down every tier, so the hardware side of this decision takes about a minute.
Our Recommendations
The real fork here is simple: do you want to keep the giving platform and processor you already have, or adopt a vendor's platform to get its tap hardware? If you want to keep what you have, Tap.Giving is the lowest-total-cost way to do that: $3.50-$5.00 per disc one time, free shipping, no required subscription (full disclosure, we sell these). A platform-tied option only makes sense if you are already shopping for a whole new giving platform, and in that case buy it as a platform decision, not a disc decision. For a broader look at all your options, see our best church donation technology for 2026 guide.
Pick if you accept ongoing costs
Subsplash Tap
Only if you want the whole Subsplash app, website, and media stack and have budgeted its subscription. Buying the platform to get the tap is the expensive way in.
Tithely Tap
Only if Tithely already processes your giving. For any other church, the discs mean migrating your whole giving stack and paying Tithely's fee on every gift.
Overflow Tap
Similar hardware prices to ours, but the required monthly plan on a one-year contract keeps billing after the discs are paid for.
Pick if budget is everything
Tap Tag
The cheapest way to get a working tap, as long as you can live with a generic look on the pew.
Pick if you keep your platform
Tap.Giving
Custom-designed discs, published pricing, and it works with the giving page you already use, so you add a tap without changing processors. Order your discs when you are ready.
Add a tap without changing your giving platform
Custom discs, published pricing, and they work with the giving page you already use. See your church's disc before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which tap-to-give platform is cheapest for churches?
Counting everything, Tap.Giving is usually the cheapest: $3.50 to $5.00 per disc one time, free shipping, and no required subscription. The others carry required ongoing costs. Overflow Tap requires a monthly plan (published tiers start at $29/mo on a one-year contract), Subsplash Tap requires the paid Subsplash platform, and Tithely Tap only works inside Tithely Giving, which takes fees on every gift.
Can I switch platforms later?
With Tap.Giving, yes - you own the hardware and can change your giving platform anytime. Platform-specific solutions like Subsplash and Tithely lock you in.
What about security, and which phones can tap?
An NFC disc only opens a web link, so the payment always happens on your giving platform's secure page, not on the disc. Nearly every modern iPhone and Android phone can tap; our guide to which phones can tap an NFC giving disc covers the handful of older models that need the QR code instead.
How long does setup take?
With Tap.Giving, setup takes minutes - just place the discs and they redirect to your existing giving page. Platform switches with Subsplash or Tithely can take weeks or months.
What if I'm already using Tithely or another platform?
Perfect! Tap.Giving works with any giving platform including Tithely, Pushpay, Givelify, and more. You can add NFC giving without changing platforms or paying monthly fees.
The Bottom Line
Every option here can put a tap on your pew. The real decision is whether you want to keep the giving platform and processor you already have, or adopt a vendor's platform to get its hardware. Tap.Giving is the hardware-only, keep-what-you-have answer. For a deeper dive into the full landscape of church giving technology, read our comprehensive church giving technology guide.
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